Take to the Sky Concert
2022-04-23 19:00 - 21:00 (America/Detroit) | Great Lakes Center for the Arts, 800 Bay Harbor Dr., Petoskey, Michigan, 49770
Violin soloist for this concert is Dmitri Berlinsky.

The theme of this concert, entitled “Take to the Sky”, centers around the portrayals of bird calls in classical music.
Vaughan Williams’ “Lark Ascending” features a silvery solo violin line fluttering, reaching up ever higher above the orchestra’s hushed, held chord creating an instant atmosphere depicting a lark as ‘he rises and begins to round’.
Completed in 1914, the British composer’s pastoral romance for violin and orchestra is an evocation of the ‘seraphically free’ song of the skylark, inspired by George Meredith’s poem of the same name:
“He rises and begins to round,
He drops the silver chain of sound
Of many links without a break,
In chirrup, whistle, slur and shake,
All intervolv’d and spreading wide,
Like water-dimples down a tide
Where ripple ripple overcurls …”
Ondras said “Lark Ascending” will feature internationally-known violinist Dmitri Berlinsky performing with the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra as a soloist. Berlinsky, professor of violin and artist teacher at the Michigan State University College of Music, has performed in major venues such as Carnegie and Avery Fisher halls in New York, The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Tokyo’s Suntory Hall, the Great Hall of the Moscow Conservatory, and Mariinsky Concert Hall.
Other featured music in “Take to the Sky” includes:
Ottorino Respighi – “Gli Uccelli” (The Birds)
According to Ondras, this five-movement work features a dove (La colomba) with a heartfelt oboe melody; the familiar call of the Cuckoo (Il Cucù); the chirpy Hen movement (La gallina), based on the same Rameau harpsichord work (The Hen, or La poule) that inspired St. Saens for his ‘Hens and cockerels’ movement in Carnival of Animals.
Rautavaara – “Cantus Arcticus”
Why imitate birds in music when you can use the real thing?
Rautavaara’s “concerto for birds and orchestra”, as it’s subtitled, uses taped birdsong throughout, taking Respighi’s idea one step further, Ondras explained. The Finnish composer headed off on a field trip to near the Arctic Circle (hence the title) and to the marshlands of Liminka in Northern Finland to record the calls of a whole host of birds. Listening to it is like stepping into an avian paradise, with the melancholy song of the shore larks as unforgettable as the migrating whooper swans. The bird calls are juxtaposed with a lush orchestral score.
Beethoven’s 6th Symphony, 2nd Movement

Sunday Series Concert: The Hummel Trio with Libor Ondras and Paul Sonner
2022-05-01 16:00 - 17:00 | First Presbyterian Church, Harbor Springs

Beethoven Symphony No. 9 Concert
2022-06-04 19:00 - 21:00 | John M. Hall Auditorium, Bay View
Always a popular concert, Beethoven’s 9th Symphony is sure to be a crowd favorite, according to Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra Music Director Libor Ondras.
According to Ondras, the famous pianissimo opening — 16 measures with no secure sense of key or rhythm – does not so much depict the journey from darkness to light, or from chaos to order, as the birth of sound itself.
“There’s something astonishing about a deaf composer choosing to open a symphony with music that reveals, like no other music before it, the very essence of sound emerging from silence,” Ondras explained. “This symphony shows Beethoven using all the subtlety and mastery of his craft, a breakthrough work— music’s first crossover composition. It’s also likely that in the text he picked for the symphony’s finale— Schiller’s hymn to universal brotherhood—Beethoven found the sense of community he craved as a comfort against personal loss and loneliness.”

According to Ondras, Beethoven’s grandest symphony and most influential composition was premiered in the concert on May 7, 1824. By 1824, Beethoven was almost completely deaf. He had long given up performing on piano in public, withdrawing completely from social life of Viennese society. When, in one of the most famous accounts in all music, the audience burst into applause (some say it was at the end of the scherzo; others at the end of the symphony) Beethoven couldn’t hear the ovation. He stood, his back to the crowd, leafing through his score. Only when the contralto soloist, Carolyn Unger, tapped him on the shoulder and turned him around did he see his public applauding wildly.

The work surpassed everything Beethoven already accomplished in the field of the symphony. With his 9th he was determined to move mankind as never before. For several years after Beethoven’s death, his 9th Symphony was considered too difficult to perform. It was not established in the repertory until the middle of the 19th century, and from then on, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony has maintained its singular status as a cultural symbol of unsurpassed importance.

2022 Crescendo - Annual GLCO Fundraiser
2022-06-21 17:00 - 21:00 | Castle Farms, 5052 M-66, Charlevoix, MI, 49720, United States
The Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra is an important part of why our northern Michigan community is considered one of the “best places to live” – adding to the quality of life for our families and the broader community.
The Orchestra is supported by just one fundraising event annually, Crescendo, a gala event featuring entertainment, hors d’ouevres, cocktails, a sit-down dinner, live auctions and more. Proceeds from this event help underwrite our commitment to providing excellent live, classical music performances and top-notch music education. Tickets for Crescendo 2022 go on sale Monday, April 18.
As a community-supported orchestra, your commitment is essential to our success. You, and other supporters like you, are at the core of GLCO. It is your support of our artists and enthusiasm for our concerts that allows us to continue to grow.
By attending our concerts, contributing regularly, and attending Crescendo, you are making an investment in music performance and music education for our community, now and for generations to come.
This Crescendo fundraising event will take place Tuesday, June 21, at Castle Farms in Charlevoix. To learn more about Crescendo tickets and how to contribute, call the GLCO office at 231-487-0100. Tickets go on sale Monday, April 18.

Rocking with the GLCO Pops - Featuring Rockapella
2022-07-19 19:00 - 21:00 | Great Lakes Center for the Arts, 800 Bay Harbor Dr., Petoskey, Michigan, 49770
Based in New York City, Rockapella has become one of the world’s most sophisticated, lasting, and imitated vocal groups around today. Since the early ’90’s when they first achieved national television fame on PBS’s Where In The World Is Carmen Sandiego?, they’ve toured the globe, made guest appearances on Today Show, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, and opened for acts such as Chuck Berry, Styx, and Billy Joel.
Rockapella began joining the Boston Pops on stage in the eastern US in 2006, creating a concert experience that shows both the orchestra’s and Rockapella’s talents separately and together in a manner never done before: a cappella with instrumentation.
You’d be hard-pressed to find a more influential group out there in this new era of network television a cappella shows like NBC’s The Sing-Off, movies like Pitch Perfect, and innumerable college vocal groups that own the corner of cool on campuses everywhere. “People have a hard time believing it’s just us making all of that music. We make it rock and make it interesting,” explains Scott Leonard, the group’s chief songwriter and arranger.

“I met Scott during my tenure at the University of Tampa some years ago. Scott is a UT alumnus and a former vocal student of a dear friend of mine who invited the group to perform. The guys were about to embark on their tour with Keith Lockhart and his Boston Pops Orchestra across cities in Midwest and Northeast. I was fascinated by the artistry of a pure human voice and the contagious energy the guys were able to create in the house”, said Libor Ondras, GLCO music director. “I had a great pleasure to work with the group a few years later in Grand Rapids and am thrilled to bring them back to our Northern Michigan audiences”, continued Ondras. “You are in for a real treat.”
As one of the progenitors of the astonishing full-band sound of “contemporary” a cappella, Rockapella has shown every audience the raw power of pure vocal talent and originality. “There’s nothing between us and the audience – it’s very human music – with nothing missing” says Rockapella’s human beatbox Jeff Thacher.
The current Rockapella line-up features Scott Leonard (High Tenor), Jeff Thacher (Vocal Percussionist), Calvin Jones (Tenor), Bryant Vance (Bass), and Jose Rodriguez (Tenor).
Huapango …………………………………………………………………….… Jose Pablo Moncayo
Danzon …………………………………………………..…………………………. Arturo Marquez
Huapango
JOSÉ PABLO MONCAYO
Born: June 29, 1912, Guadalajara, Mexico Died: June 16, 1958, Mexico City, Mexico
Composed: 1940-41 Premiered: August 15, 1941, Symphony Orchestra of Mexico
José Moncayo was a composer, percussionist and a conductor who in his short career wrote a couple of symphonies, an opera, and a ballet.
In 1941, his mentor and friend Carlos Chávez asked Moncayo to write a piece based on the popular music of the Veracruz area on the Gulf of Mexico. Moncayo later recounted the trip to Alvarado, one of the places where folkloric music was preserved in its most pure form, collecting melodies, rhythms and instrumentations for several days.
The huapango is a lively Mexican dance of Spanish origin performed by singers and instrumental ensembles ranging from a duo to a full mariachi band. It is characterized by a complex rhythmic structure mixing duple and triple meters which reflect the intricate steps of the dance. This folk dance was traditionally performed on a wooden platform, and Moncayo makes fantastic use of the percussion to highlight the effect.
The opening of the piece gradually expands and finally reaches a loud, ecstatic fortissimo by the entire orchestra, repeating a vivacious, festive dance-like rhythm. This introductory motif is then intertwined with two distinct, singing themes played by solo trumpet. Halfway through the work, the atmosphere suddenly relaxes into a more laid-back, siesta-like waltz.
A new theme is introduced culminating in a sweeping response from the entire orchestra. The mood is shattered as the horns erupt with a reinstatement of the opening fanfare and transition into a glorious duet between trombone and trumpet, before the orchestra rushes into an exuberant coda, ending the work with a bang. Colorfully orchestrated with an emphasis on instruments typical of the Veracruz style (trumpet, harp, and violins) and driven by the distinctive huapango rhythm, Huapango has become an enduring classic.
Rhythmically, the danzón is based on a repeated rhythmic pattern called a clavé one measure has three notes and the other two. It is often played on an instrument called a clavé, consisting of two hardwood cylinders, one striking the other. Couples dance the danzón in an upright posture, strutting arm in arm with swaying steps. Ironically, Cubans have nearly lost interest in their national dance. Without Mexican involvement, it may have completely disappeared. Veracruz maintains a tradition of the danzón very close to the Cuban original. In Mexico City, on the other hand, it has evolved by taking elements of other dances. The danzón must not have become well known everywhere in Mexico, however. Márquez was apparently not familiar with it until 1993. In 1994, he composed the first three of eight danzóns.
Danzon 2
ARTURO MARQUEZ
Born: December 20, 1950 in Alamos, Sonora, Mexico
Arturo Márquez uses musical forms and styles of his native Mexico and incorporates them into his compositions. He was exposed to a variety of musical styles by his father, a Mariachi musician, and his grandfather, a Mexican folk musician. He started composing at the age of 16 in a music conservatory in Mexico, then continued his studies later as a Fulbright scholar in California. His Danzóns are the most widely-known compositions of his and are often used in ballet productions and symphonic concerts.
The Danzón No. 2 is a tribute to the environment that nourishes the genre. It endeavors to get as close as possible to the dance, to its nostalgic melodies, to its wild rhythms, and although it departs from its intimacy, its form and its harmonic language, it is a very personal way of paying respects and expressing emotions towards truly popular music.
The idea of writing the Danzón No. 2 originated in 1993 during a trip to Malinalco with the painter Andrés Fonseca and the dancer Irene Martínez, both of whom are experts in salon dances with a special passion for the danzón from the Veracruz region. Marquez started to learn the danzón’s rhythms, its form, its melodic outline, and to listen to the old recordings by Acerina and his Danzonera Orchestra. He was fascinated by the lightness of the danzón, its sensuality and seriousness, which Mexican people continue to dance to with a touch of nostalgia.
Danzón no. 2 begins with an extended legato melody played on clarinet, accompanied by the clavé. The melody recurs throughout the piece in varied forms played by different instruments. Very soft sections often prepare for much louder music with frequent shifts in dynamics and changes in tempo.
All program notes by Libor Ondras
Veterans and students under 18 enjoy complimentary tickets to Orchestra concerts. To arrange complimentary tickets, please call 231-487-0010.

Aspects of America
2022-10-01 19:00 - 20:30 | Great Lakes Center for the Arts, 800 Bay Harbor Dr., Petoskey, Michigan, 49770
Our concert season opener is a musicological journey through the history of American music featuring composers from the late 1900s to present day. Come to hear your favorite works by American composers and support our 2022 Charles F. Davis concerto competition winner, Karlie Thomas, performing Scaramouch for alto saxophone and orchestra.
William Grant Still, American composer
The opening concert of the season features GLCO’s strings in a program the explores the development of American classical music from the mid-19th century all the way to contemporary trends in the 21st century. The program includes compositions from the early 20th century (William Grant Still) showcasing the developments pivotal in the history of American classical music as it established the characteristics that set it apart from its European ancestors. Composers like Grant Still, Piazzolla, & Morton Gould created synthesis of music from several traditions (popular music, jazz, European music). Many of the classical composers of the 20th century (Barber, Villa-Lobos) were influenced by folk traditions capturing the “Americana” spirit in their compositions. A number of important works came from immigrant composers (Milhaud) who came to America for a variety of reasons, including persecution, aesthetic freedom and economic opportunity. The remaining two composers featured on this program (Bolcom, Paus) represent the contemporary trends that pay homage to the past generations of American composers by picking up the dropped thread of American classical music traditions.

William Grant Still: Serenade
Astor Piazzolla: Oblivion
Samuel Barber: Serenade op. 1
Darius Milhaud: Scaramouche – Modere, Brasileira

Aaron Jay Kernis: Elegy (For those we lost)
Heitor Villa-Lobos: Bachianas Brazileiras No 5. Aria (arr. M. Naughtin)
William Bolcom: 3 rags – Poltergeist, Graceful ghost, Incineratorag
Marcus Paus: Two Lyrical Pieces
Morton Gould: String music – Tango, Ballad and Strum movements

Prolific and influential composer William Grant Still is regarded as the “Dean of African American composers.” Still was born on May 11, 1895 in Woodville, Mississippi to middle class parents of mixed race. He grew up in Little Rock, Arkansas and was raised by his mother and grandmother after his father died. Still studied medicine at Wilberforce University, but spent most of his time there conducting the band, playing, arranging, and composing music. He began his formal music composition training at Oberlin Conservatory and later studied with George Chadwick at the New England Conservatory and privately with ultra-modernist composer Edgar Varese. Early on he entered the world of commercial popular music, working in Harlem for blues musician W. C. Handy and creating musical arrangements for theater orchestras and radio. Still was a pioneer; he was able to create music with a distinct American voice and style that gained interest, admiration and attention from conductors, orchestras and audiences. He was the first African-American to conduct a major American symphony orchestra, the first to have a symphony performed by a leading orchestra, the first to have an opera performed by a major opera company, and the first to have an opera performed on national television. Still composed his Serenade for Orchestra in 1957 on a commission by the Great Falls High School in Great Falls, Montana. The piece reflects Still’s interest in American folk idioms, with conventional melodies and harmonies that nonetheless express a fresh and individual compositional voice.

Astor Piazzolla was born March 11, 1921 in Argentina to Italian immigrants and spent much of his youth and adult life shuffling back and forth between Buenos Aires and New York. In his early years, he worked as a bandoneonist in tango orchestras. A member of the accordion family, the bandoneon was brought to Argentina by German and Italian immigrants, and it provided the signature sound for that internationally beloved Argentinian dance and music genre, the tango. Aspiring to more serious musical achievements, Piazzolla studied music for five years in the early 1940s with Alberto Ginastera, and then for one year in the mid-1950s with the outstanding French musician-pedagogue, Nadia Boulanger, the teacher of Copland and many other illustrious composers. Encouraged by Boulanger, his favorite teacher, to continue to work with the tango genre, Piazzolla developed something alternately called “nuevo tango” (“new tango”) and “avant-garde tango,” a genre incorporating tango and jazz along with modern high art techniques and forms, and one that eschewed improvisation in favor of composition. This was tango, explained Piazzolla, that was intended to be listened to rather than danced to.
Oblivion became one of the most (if not the most) famous compositions by Astor Piazzolla, which he composed in 1982 for Mario Bellochio’s film Enrico IV. Oblivion greatly demonstrates Astor Piazzolla’s melodic power. The haunting succession of notes leaves plenty of room to the interpreter for his own expressiveness, while in the background, the rhythm based on the original slow milonga from the countryside of Argentina, gives a smooth but harmonically colorful framing.

One of America’s most eminent composers, Samuel Osborne Barber knew his destiny at an early age. The 9-year-old Barber wrote his mother a letter saying, “I was not meant to be an athlete[sic]. I was meant to be a composer, and will be one, I’m sure.” A year later, he wrote a brief opera called The Rose Tree, launching his life’s work. Barber grew up surrounded by music. His pianist mother encouraged his musical studies. His aunt Louise Beatty Homer, who sang at the Metropolitan Opera, and his uncle Sidney Homer, a composer, offered crucial mentorship. At 14, Barber became one of the first students at a new conservatory — the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia — studying piano, voice and composition. His teachers included renowned conductor Fritz Reiner and composer Rosario Scalero. Early successes included prizes from Columbia University, winning the American Prix de Rome, and receiving a Pulitzer scholarship. In 1936 Barber arranged the second movement of his String Quartet op.11 for string orchestra at the behest of NBC Symphony conductor Arturo Toscanini. The Adagio for Strings rapidly became his most famous work and secured his status as a composer of lyrical music. The 1940s and ‘50s marked the height of Barber’s fame when he received three Guggenheim Fellowships, a Pulitzer Prize and an honorary doctorate from Harvard University.
Barber’s Serenade for String Quartet, op. 1, reveals a level of refinement and confidence befitting a composer of more mature years. Written in 1928 while Barber was studying composition with Rosario Scalero at Philadelphia’s Curtis Institute of Music, the three movement Serenade is well-grounded in traditional harmonies but readily displays the composer’s fondness for metrical juxtaposition and expressive shifts between major and minor. Barber’s student colleagues in the Curtis Quartet premiered the work in May 1930 on a program of compositions by Scalero’s students. At that time, there appears to have been a fourth movement in the piece but no manuscript survives and all published versions are three movements. The Serenade was published in 1942; Barber added a bass part to create a string orchestra version. All three movements of the Serenade are compact. Passages of lyrical introspection are interspersed with moments of melancholy. The concluding Dance is lively and playful, with irrepressible youthful optimism and wry humor.

Darius Milhaud (1892-1974), French composer and teacher, was born in Aix-en-Provence, France. He studied at the Paris Conservatory and was stimulated by the music of Debussy and Mussorgsky. In 1916, Paul Claudel, then French minister to Brazil, invited Milhaud to accompany him to Rio de Janeiro as his secretary. The atmosphere and native music made an indelible impression on the young composer. When he returned to Paris he became one of the group of young musicians known as Les Six. Les Six shared a desire for simplicity and freedom and a fondness for jazz. Milhaud became one of the best and most prolific composers of his generation. His vast output of four hundred forty-four opus numbers includes twelve symphonies, eighteen string quartets, thirty-four concerti, fifteen operas, nineteen ballets, twenty-five film scores, chamber and instrumental music, and many songs. His music is notable for the freedom with which he adopted whatever style seemed to him to be suitable for the task on hand. “I have no aesthetic rules, or philosophy or theories,” he said. “I love to write music. I always do it with pleasure; otherwise, I just do not write it. I have always made it my business to accept musical jobs of every kind.” Among his best-known works are the jazz-influenced La Création du Monde and the Scaramouche Suite for saxophone and orchestra.

Aaron Jay Kernis was born on January 15, 1960 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He taught himself to play the piano at age 12, and soon began to compose. Serious musical studies followed at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music, Manhattan School of Music, Yale School of Music, and, as the winner of the Prix de Rome scholarship, the American Academy in Rome. In 1983, Kernis received national acclaim when the New York Philharmonic premiered his first orchestral work, dream of the morning sky, during its Horizons Festival.
Unlike many others of his generation, he has chosen to confront tradition rather than dismiss it. His compositional building blocks are the centuries-old traditions of Western music, re-mastered by a postmodern sensibility and extravagant imagination. His music embodies the aesthetic of Romanticism, but speaks in the musical language, and with the intellectual concerns of late 20th century America. He wrote Elegy (to those we lost) during the pandemic month of May 2020, when it became clear that the toll of COVID-19 on human lives was truly devastating. Kernis hopes that through this short work listeners can find a space of solace to reflect, remember and mourn those we have lost — known or unknown to us, and allow us to find compassion to share this time as brothers and sisters together.

The music of Heitor Villa-Lobos (born In Rio de Janeiro, March 5, 1887) almost always reflected his passion for Brazilian culture and the music of J. S. Bach. His father, an amateur musician, taught him to play the cello and clarinet, and he taught himself to play the guitar. After 1899, Villa-Lobos began making a living playing guitar and cello in cafés and movie houses. As a composer, he was also mostly self-taught. Between 1905 and 1912 he made numerous expeditions into Brazil’s hinterland to study the music and folklore of the indigenous populations, whose music eventually became the inspiration for much of his own. In this regard, his career mirrored that of European contemporaries Béla Bartók, Zoltan Kodály, and Ralph Vaughan Williams, all of whom studied and incorporated the music of their native countries. In 1918, pianist Artur Rubinstein “discovered” Villa-Lobos and encouraged him to visit Europe “to show his accomplishments.” Villa-Lobos stayed in Paris from 1923 to 1930, and upon his return to Brazil, he took charge of music education in the schools. Between 1930 and 1945, Villa-Lobos composed the nine Bachianas Brasileiras in “homage to the great genius of Johann Sebastian Bach … [whom] consider a kind of universal folkloric source, rich and profound … [a source] linking all peoples.” But while the Bachianas contain suggestions of Bach’s style and form, the music is unmistakably Villa-Lobos’ own and relies heavily on Brazilian folk melody and rhythm.
The fifth suite, originally scored for solo soprano and an ensemble of eight cellos, is, by far, the most performed of the set. It was written in 1938 and falls in two movements; the first “Cantilena,” as Villa-Lobos called it, begins with a ‘vocalise’ melody accompanied by the rest of the ensemble, followed by a brief, declamatory setting of a poem by Ruth Corrêa that describes the moon rising in the sky. A reprise of the ‘vocalise’ brings the movement to a haunting, memorable close.

William Bolcom (born 1938) began his compositional career very much in the European avantgarde tradition. After studies with Olivier Messiaen at the Paris Conservatoire, Bolcom composed music using the complex serial procedures developed by Pierre Boulez and Karlheinz Stockhausen. However, partially inspired by the example of Charles Ives, he soon developed an original approach that drew on music from many traditions, combining the sounds of high modernism with those from various kinds of popular music. Bolcom has been an important pianist and curator of ragtime and, with his wife, the mezzo-soprano Joan Morris, of American popular song. Bolcom was an especially important figure in the North American ragtime revival that began in Toronto in the mid 1960s. Bolcom began to collect and to perform rags by Scott Joplin, Joseph Lamb, James Scott and other American musicians from the early 20th century. Bolcom began to compose his own piano rags, mostly between 1967 and 1973. These rags show Bolcom’s deep immersion in, and love for, the ragtime tradition, while also displaying his own distinctive compositional voice. The ghost of Poltergeist is apparently of the sneaky, devious variety, as the rag is predominantly quiet, with an accompaniment that bounces lightly, rather than thumping. A “stop time” section near the end leaves unexpected gaps in the music, heightening the witty effect. Graceful Ghost Rag is Bolcom’s best-known rag. Bolcom has described it as “an elegiac rag,” in memory of his father, a gentle man and a fine dancer. This is a slow, lyrical rag. Incineratorag is the one of the three rags that is closest to Joplin’s style, starting with a stereotypical four-bar introduction before continuing on to boisterous two-note groups. The contrasting middle section (the “Trio”) is particularly beautiful, with slow, dragging, syncopations. These three rags were arranged for string quartet in 1989, at the request of the violinist Emanuel Borok.

Norwegian composer Marcus Paus (born 1979) is one of the most performed and acclaimed contemporary classical musicians of his generation, and one of the most lauded Scandinavian composers working today. His diverse catalog includes chamber music, solo works, choral music, orchestral works, opera and theater and film music. Paus is one of the strongest representatives in the contemporary classical music world of a reorientation toward tradition, melody and tonality. His works are often distinguished by a flowing melodic vein, full of lyricism and characterized by a complex harmonic language. Paus studied at the Norwegian Academy of Music, and then got his Master’s Degree in composition at the Manhattan School of Music, where he was mentored by American composer Richard Danielpour. Growing up in a musical family, Marcus was always surrounded by music, but the spark that ignited his love for orchestral music were the classic scores composed by John Williams for films like E.T., Superman, Indiana Jones and the Star Wars saga. Paus acknowledges that the music of Williams has been one of the most profound inspirations of his life, becoming an element that helped him pursue his goals as a composer. Some of his most ambitious works, such as the Concerto for Timpani and Orchestra (2015), the Sonata for Cello and Piano (2009), the song-cycle for mezzosoprano and orchestra inspired by Dorothy Parker’s Hate Songs (2014), and the choral work based on Anne Frank’s diary The Beauty That Still Remains (2015) have been lauded by music critics and achieved a large success with audiences as well. Two Lyrical Pieces for string orchestra were commissioned by The New York Edward Grieg Society in 2007 and consist of two contrasting movements – contemplative Elegy and feverish Fanitull (Devil’s Tune).

Morton Gould, composer, conductor, pianist, arranger and administrator, was born on December 10, 1913 in New York City. By the age of four, he was playing the piano and composing; at six, he had one of his first compositions published, and by the time he was eight, he had played piano on broadcasts of WOR Radio in New York. In 1932, when he was nineteen, he became staff pianist at Radio City Music Hall. After a brief stint with NBC, he was engaged as composer, arranger and conductor by WOR. In addition to his light compositions for radio, Gould has written for film (Windjammer), television (the World War I series, Holocaust and Celebration), ballet (Fall River Legend), Broadway (Billion Dollar Baby and Arms and the Girl), symphonic band, chamber ensembles and chorus, and has also produced some fifty works for orchestra, including American Salute, Spirituals, Vivaldi Gallery, Apple Waltzes, Burchfield Gallery, Lincoln Legend and Symphony of Spirituals. He is also widely known as a conductor, having won a Grammy Award for his recording of the music of Charles Ives with the Chicago Symphony. His other honors include twelve Grammy nominations, the 1983 Gold Baton Award from the American Symphony Orchestra League, the 1985 Medal of Honor for Music from the National Arts Club, membership in the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, and the National Music Council’s Golden Eagle Award. In addition, Morton Gould is president of ASCAP (American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers).
Stringmusic is a large-scale suite, or serenade, for string orchestra, comprising five movements. There is much antiphonal writing — sometimes suggesting two separate string orchestras, using such devices as col legno (tapping the strings with the wood part of the bow) and playing without vibrato. Basically, Stringmusic is a lyrical work, reflecting, in a way, a man and musician we have all come to know for the intensity and emotion of his commitment to music and life, Mstislav Rostropovich, known as “Slava” to his friends and for whom this piece was written.
The second movement is a ‘Tango.’ It begins with an upward sweep, and a formal tango rhythm. There is a sequence of varied and contrasting tango evocations; early on, after a strident Argentine-style episode, with its pronounced rhythm, there is a change to a languorous episode for four solo violins, in the old Mittel-Europa cafe style. The movement alternates between the languorous rhythmic ‘tango’ character.
The ‘Ballad’ that follows is lyrical and romantic and song-like — a love note.
‘Strum’ is the self-descriptive title of the final movement, a perpetual motion. Here the pizzicatos are played not with each note cleanly plucked, but in a strumming way, rapidly across the strings. It starts very fast, with tremolo effects and lots of contrast, and takes off as a virtuoso and jubilant piece. Following a fugato played pianissimo at high speed, the piece accelerates to the end with a loud pizzicato snap.
Notes by Libor Ondras

Special thanks to the Charlevoix County Community Foundation for sponsoring this concert

Prague's Treasures
2022-11-05 19:00 - 20:30 | Great Lakes Center for the Arts, 800 Bay Harbor Dr., Petoskey, Michigan, 49770
https://glcorchestra.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Libor-Ondras-Prague-Treasures-Promo.mp4

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This concert combines works first performed, commissioned by and dedicated to the capital of Bohemia. Prague is known for its architecture, the Charles Bridge, churches and bell towers, the castle that has been the residence of Bohemian kings for centuries, culture, music, and so much more. We will bring you back to this magical city and let you experience what it was like to hear Mozart’s and Beethoven’s pieces for the first time.
Mozart must have loved his time in Prague, where he finally received the recognition he felt he deserved but never quite achieved in the more staid, aristocratic Vienna. His love affair with the Bohemian city began in January 1787, a month or so after a production of his Le Nozze di Figaro, which had had taken Prague by storm. Mozart brought with him on his visit the newly completed Symphony No. 38, which he had written in the city’s honor, and this too met with tremendous enthusiasm from the public and enjoyed repeated performances. He left with a commission in hand for another opera— one that would have its premiere in Prague. The new opera was to become Don Giovanni and was premiered in Prague’s Estate theatre on October 29, 1787. The second half of the concert is dedicated to Beethoven’s Piano concerto No. 1. It is speculated that the concerto was performed in June 1796 at the Berlin court, in December 1796 in a private concert for the cousins Romberg, in 1798 at two concerts in Prague, and April 2, 1800 in the Burgtheater in Vienna. The Prague performance is the only one to have been confirmed without speculation.

For more information about featured piano soloist Lorenzo Marasso, you can visit his website at lorenzomarasso.com.

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Special thanks to the Charlevoix County Community Foundation for sponsoring this performance

Messiah- Annual Holiday Concert
2022-12-15 19:00 - 20:30, 2022-12-16 19:00 - 20:30 | Great Lakes Center for the Arts, 800 Bay Harbor Dr., Petoskey, Michigan, 49770
Per our decade long tradition, the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra will celebrate the holiday concert season with the performance of Handel’s masterpiece Messiah. The first half of the concert features the GLCO choir and soloists in Oratorio de Noel by Camille Saint-Saëns, setting the mood for the Christmas story. Saint-Saëns’ Oratorio is an intimate work blending a number of musical styles—narrative recitatives, folk-like melodies, passionate operatic solo passages, and simple choral writing. It was composed in 1858, when the Church of the Madeleine in Paris commissioned Camille Saint-Saëns to write work for that year’s Christmas celebration. The concert concludes with the first and second sections of Handel’s famous oratorio Messiah, ending with the celebratory and beloved Hallelujah chorus.
Click below to hear the Hallelujah chorus section from 2019’s Messiah:

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Legends & Mysteries: Shackleton's Incredible Journey
2023-01-27 19:00 - 20:00 | Great Lakes Center for the Arts, 800 Bay Harbor Dr., Petoskey, Michigan, 49770
Come learn and enjoy exploring Ernest Shackleton’s renowned leadership as illustrated by his incredible journey on the Endurance.
Audiences are given an immersive musical experience as they watch the story of Shackleton unfold through the presentation of live video, live theater, and the exhilarating live orchestral music of Ludwig van Beethoven, Henry Wood, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Felix Mendelssohn, Claude Debussy, Maurice Ravel, Edvard Grieg, Edward Elgar, Ralph Vaughan Williams, & Benjamin Britten.
Don’t miss this performance that is sure to appeal to all ages.
*This performance will also occur in the afternoon on the same date to a sold-out audience of 500 7th-9th grade students as part of the Great Lakes Center for the Arts NextGen program.
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Learn even more about this amazing performance and the history behind it by visiting our education page at glcorchestra.org/shackleton!
The 2023 feature of our “Legends & Mysteries” educational series focuses upon the gripping story of Ernest Shackleton’s Endurance voyage, shipwreck, and subsequent rescue mission. Shackleton was one of the principal figures in the age of Antarctic exploration and our story focuses on Shackleton’s amazing traits of leadership. In this heroic tale, he brought all of his men back from 21 months of seemingly endless points of peril, to survive against all odds. Musical selections from classical to 20th century orchestral masterpieces represent these leadership traits including a sense of purpose, loyalty, optimism, flexibility, ingenuity, and responsibility. Audiences are given an immersive musical experience as they watch the story of Shackleton unfold through the series of scenes with both live actors on stage as well as original film footage captured by filmmaker and photographer Frank Hurley.
Shackleton’s ship, Endurance, became trapped in the ice in January 1915 and remained stuck until October, when the ice closed in and crushed it. Shackleton and his men then camped on the ice until April 1916 (for over a year!), when the floe broke up, and they were forced to sail in three lifeboats to Elephant Island. Almost 500 days had passed since they had stood on dry land. At that point, Shackleton and a few of his men made the 800-mile journey in a tiny boat, the James Caird, back to South Georgia, where he got help and returned to Elephant Island to rescue his crew- and miraculously, after nearly two years shipwrecked, every single one of them had survived.
The Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra’s “Legends & Mysteries” educational concert series combines history, music and so much more. The presentation of live video, theater, and exhilarating orchestral music truly illustrates associative learning by helping to connect ideas and experiences that will promote intellectual curiosity as the audience learns more about the music, the history and the people who are involved in making both.

Terra Nostra
2023-04-29 19:00 - 20:30 | Great Lakes Center for the Arts, 800 Bay Harbor Dr., Petoskey, Michigan, 49770
Celebrate the beauty of our earth and the Great Lakes with this concert dedicated to the natural wonders of our world.
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We begin with an homage to indigenous/American Indian culture through music by Jerod Impichchaachaaha’ Tate, a Chickasaw classical composer. Spirit Chief Names the Animal People is the Okanogan Indian story of how Coyote retained his name, given by the Great Spirit Chief. The music recorded is the orchestral version of the three powerful animals Bear, Salmon and Eagle – along with Coyote.

Terra Nostra (Our Earth in Latin) is a 30-minute multimedia symphony about climate change composed by Christophe Chagnard, and featuring documentary film by Charlie Spears. It was created to engage, educate, inspire, and empower people to initiate personal and policy change to protect our Earth.

Terra Nostra trailer:

The Great Lakes Cantata composed by Gwyneth Walker (GLCO composer-in-residence) is a musical journey across the magnificent five lakes (each represented by the five movements within the piece) bordering the Eastern US and Canada. Texts by American and Canadian poets have been selected as lyrics for this cantata. The journey moves from East (Lake Ontario) to West (Lake Superior), stopping to explore the unique character of each lake en route.

Out into the deep of the great dark world,
Beyond the long borders where foam and drift
Of the sundering waves are lost and gone
On the tides that plunge and rear and crumble.
-excerpted Carl Sandberg lyrics, representing Lake Michigan in the cantata

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Sunday Series: The Hummel Trio
2023-05-21 16:00 - 17:00 | First Presbyterian Church, Harbor Springs
Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra presents The Hummel Trio with Maestro Libor Ondras, as the finale to this season’s Sunday Series. The program will include works by César Franck, Ludwig van Beethoven, and Johann Hummel. The trio includes Dr. Libor Ondras, violin, viola; Emily Grabinski Conklin, piano; and Andrew Laven, cello. The Hummel Trio is also the ensemble-in-residence at Grand Rapids Community College.

Sunday’s performance will include:

César Franck (1822-1890)

Sonata in A major for violin and Piano
Allegretto Moderato, Allegro, Moderato, Allegretto

L.v. Beethoven (1770-1827)

Sonata for Cello and Piano No. 4 in C major
Andante-Allegro vivace, Allegro-Andante-Allegro

Johann Hummel (1778-1837)

Piano Trio Op.65 in G major
Allegro con spirito, Andante grazioso, Rondo
Vivace assai e scherzando

Generous support for the Sunday Series is provided by Carolyn Klender.

From Bohemia's Woods & Groves
2023-06-10 19:00 - 20:30 | John M. Hall Auditorium, Bay View
Prepare to be captivated by the enchanting melodies and virtuosic performances at our summer-opening concert! Taking place at the historic John M. Hall Auditorium in Bay View, this musical extravaganza promises an unforgettable evening of classical brilliance.
At the heart of the concert is the spellbinding performance of Samuel Barber‘s timeless masterpiece, the Violin Concerto, delivered by the award-winning virtuoso, Dylana Jenson (the first American woman to win the Tchaikovsky International competition). Composed in 1939, Barber’s concerto encompasses three breathtaking movements. The first two movements overflow with lyrical beauty and irresistible melodies, drawing listeners into a world of unparalleled emotion. Yet, it is the grand finale that sets hearts racing, as the music races forward with unyielding intensity. With every note, the solo violin dances in perpetual motion, navigating intricate rhythmic complexities and astonishing virtuosity.
In addition to Barber’s masterwork, the concert embraces the Bohemian spirit through Antonín Dvořák‘s magnificent Symphony No. 8. Written in the key of G major, this symphony exudes a genial and uplifting atmosphere, captivating audiences from the first note. However, upon closer examination, one discovers the hidden allure of the minor-key passages woven seamlessly throughout the major-key composition. The Eighth Symphony, heralded for its innovation, marked a departure from Dvořák’s previous works. The composer sought to craft a musical experience that was distinctly individual and pioneering. By infusing his adoration for the Czech countryside into the symphony, Dvořák created a unique sonic landscape. Nature comes alive within the music, as the haunting calls of hunting horns and the melodies of birdsongs emerge from various wind instruments. Hanz-Hubert Schönzeler, Dvořák’s biographer, once remarked “When one walks in those forests surrounding Dvořák’s country home on a sunny summer’s day, with the birds singing and the leaves of trees rustling in a gentle breeze, one can virtually hear the music.”
Under the masterful guidance of GLCO’s esteemed Maestro Libor Ondras, the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra is set to transport you on a remarkable musical journey. Be prepared to be whisked away into the depths of Bohemia’s woods and groves, where each note resonates with beauty, passion, and the very essence of nature itself. This concert promises to be an extraordinary celebration of the boundless power of music.
Learn more about Dylana Jenson, featured violin soloist, here.
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From Vienna With Love
2023-07-20 19:00 | Great Lakes Center for the Arts, 800 Bay Harbor Dr., Petoskey, Michigan, 49770
Unleash the Magic of Vienna: Join us for ‘From Vienna with Love’ on July 20th!
Prost! Raise your glasses high and join the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra (GLCO) for a night of pure enchantment at our Strauss-fest in July! Get ready to waltz into a summer night filled with your favorite tunes, including the captivating Blue Danube Waltz and the exhilarating overture to Die Fledermaus. Brace yourself for an unforgettable evening as our extraordinary opera divas, Amy Cross and Jamie Platte, mesmerize you with their brilliant voices and radiant presence.
But that’s just the beginning! GLCO’s unique take on the Viennese Opera Ball goes beyond the music—it celebrates the cultural and economic bonds between Austria and America. It’s a night that seamlessly connects two continents and two centuries, bringing them together in a single, glamorous extravaganza. As the melodies fill the air, we invite you to immerse yourself in the grandeur of Vienna.
Prepare to be captivated as our renowned orchestra, led by Maestro Libor Ondras, sweeps you off your feet with waltzes, polkas, and quadrilles by Strauss, Lehar, Delibes, and more. Every note is infused with the spirit of Vienna, transporting you to a world of elegance and joy.
Secure your tickets now and be part of an experience that promises to be the highlight of your summer. Don’t miss the chance to bask in the opulence and grace of Vienna, as we unite two continents through music and celebrate the enduring relationship between Austria and America.
To purchase your tickets, click here or call our office at (231) 487-0010.
We can’t wait to share this extraordinary experience with you!

Women Composers Night
2023-09-23 19:00 - 21:00 | Great Lakes Center for the Arts, 800 Bay Harbor Dr., Petoskey, Michigan, 49770
Karisa Chiu, Featured Soloist for Women Composers Night
Experience an unforgettable evening of captivating music at the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra’s highly anticipated concert, “Women Composers Night.” Celebrating the remarkable talent of women composers, this extraordinary event promises an enchanting journey through the diverse and groundbreaking works of some of history’s most visionary musical minds. Featuring the extraordinary virtuosity of rising star violin soloist Karisa Chiu, this concert is a must-see for music enthusiasts of all ages.
The program boasts an exquisite selection of compositions that showcase the immense contributions of women to classical music. Immerse yourself in the resounding beauty of Jessie Montgomery’s electrifying Overture, a vibrant and dynamic piece that blends classical and contemporary elements with remarkable finesse. Feel the soul-stirring melodies of Amanda Rontgen Maier’s Violin Concerto, a masterpiece that demonstrates Maier’s unparalleled ability to blend lyricism and technical brilliance.
Prepare to be captivated by Florence Price’s Suite of Dances, a groundbreaking composition by the first African-American woman to have a symphony performed by a major orchestra. Through this stunning work, Price deftly weaves together elements of African-American spirituals, classical forms, and rich orchestration to create a tapestry of profound emotion and cultural significance.
Delight in the resplendent melodies of Ethel Smyth’s Serenade for Orchestra, a dazzling piece that showcases her mastery of orchestration and harmonic richness. Smyth, a prominent British suffragette, shattered societal norms and carved her own path as a composer in a male-dominated industry.
As the evening reaches its crescendo, experience the powerful energy of Joan Tower’s Made in America, a tour de force that reflects the pulse and spirit of the United States. Tower, an influential American composer, takes listeners on an exhilarating musical journey through landscapes both familiar and unknown, forging a connection between music and the American experience.
“Women Composers Night” promises to be an extraordinary celebration of musical brilliance, diversity, and innovation. Join us for an enchanting evening where the harmonies of these visionary women composers will stir your soul and leave an indelible mark on your musical journey. Don’t miss this opportunity to witness the magic firsthand – secure your tickets today and be part of this remarkable event!
EVENING SCHEDULE
6:00 PM Pre-Concert Talk with Maestro Libor Ondras
6:30 PM Auditorium Doors Open
7:00 PM Concert Begins
Jessie Montgomery – Overture
Amanda Rontgen Maier – Violin Concerto
*Intermission*
Florence Price – Suite of Dances (possibly only one movement)
Ethel Smyth – Serenade for Orchestra in D
Joan Tower – Made in America
Post-Concert Reception in West Community Engagement Room

This concert is generously sponsored by Women Who Care in the Tip of the Mitt, Hestia Women’s Giving Circle, Charlevoix County Community Foundation, and the Jeff and Anne Miller Fund.

Echoes from the Musikverein
2023-11-04 19:00 | Great Lakes Center for the Arts, 800 Bay Harbor Dr., Petoskey, Michigan, 49770
Music from Vienna’s Golden Concert Hall
Mozart | Schubert | Haydn

Featuring Michael Barrett, Piano Soloist

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Join us for a mesmerizing evening of “Echoes from the Musikverein: Music from Vienna’s Golden Concert Hall” on November 4th at the Great Lakes Center for the Arts. Immerse yourself in the timeless allure of Vienna as GLCO, under the baton of our esteemed conductor Maestro Libor Ondras, brings to life masterpieces from the Musikverein.
Our captivating program features three iconic compositions that have graced the hallowed halls of Vienna’s prestigious concert venue. We’ll begin with Haydn’s Symphony No. 6 in D major ‘Le Matin’, a sparkling gem that evokes the radiant light of dawn. Experience the playful interplay of musical motifs as Haydn’s ingenious craftsmanship unfolds, painting a vivid musical landscape.
Next, prepare to be spellbound by Mozart’s Piano Concerto No. 19 K 459 in F major, a virtuosic showcase led by the extraordinary soloist, Michael Barrett. Renowned as the music director of the Moab Music Festival, Michael’s illustrious career and association with Leonard Bernstein add an extraordinary dimension to this performance. Barrett’s keystrokes will make Mozart’s concerto dance and delight, revealing the profound beauty and grace of the Austrian composer’s work.
After intermission, we delve into Schubert’s Symphony No. 5 in B-flat major D.485. Transport yourself to the romantic era as Schubert’s luminous melodies and rich harmonies take you on a soul-stirring journey. With each movement, this symphony conjures feelings of joy and exuberance, whisking you away to a realm of pure musical enchantment.
Our esteemed soloist, Michael Barrett, is an unparalleled talent whose musical pedigree traces back to the legendary Leonard Bernstein. As a champion of new music and a seasoned conductor and pianist, Michael’s interpretations breathe fresh life into the classical repertoire. His passion for education and collaboration with Jamie Bernstein has enriched musical programs around the world, making him a celebrated figure in the realm of symphonic and operatic arts.
This concert is a celebration of the rich cultural heritage of Vienna and the brilliance of Haydn, Mozart, and Schubert. Their timeless compositions have enchanted audiences for centuries, and we are honored to present them in all their glory. Join us for a night of exuberant melodies, evocative harmonies, and exceptional artistry, as we pay homage to the grand traditions of Vienna’s Musikverein.
Secure your seats now and become a part of this extraordinary musical journey. Don’t miss the chance to witness Michael Barrett’s brilliance alongside the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra in an unforgettable evening of music that transcends time and place.
As always, please feel welcome to join us for an engaging pre-concert talk with Maestro Libor Ondras at 6:00 PM, and/or post-concert for our reception featuring sweets from local bakeries. Michael Barrett will be in attendance to meet and speak with patrons as well.

Messiah
2023-12-07 19:00 - 21:00, 2023-12-08 19:00 - 21:00 | Great Lakes Center for the Arts, 800 Bay Harbor Dr., Petoskey, Michigan, 49770
Join us on December 7th and 8th, 2023, for a cherished holiday tradition as the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra presents “Messiah” with the GLCO Choir. Experience the enduring cultural impact of George Fredric Handel’s masterpiece, “Messiah,” believed to have been performed every single year since its creation in 1741. Handel’s composition, which he completed in just 24 days, continues to captivate audiences with its timeless beauty and profound storytelling.
Handel’s “Messiah” is a musical journey that blends different national styles, from French Baroque to Italian opera and distinctly Germanic orchestration, creating a unique and eclectic experience. The instrumental preludes exude the opulence of the French court, while the vocal writing reflects Handel’s deep study of Italian opera. This oratorio, narratively rich and spiritually transcendent, draws from passages in the King James Bible and the Coverdale Psalter, making it a work of broad appeal.
In addition to “Messiah,” we will also present Gerald Finzi’s “In Terra Pax.” Finzi’s music, marked by personal tragedy and a love for the English countryside, offers a sense of peace and equanimity, even in the face of life’s challenges. Don’t miss this opportunity to immerse yourself in the beauty of these timeless compositions, and join us for a holiday concert that is both spiritually uplifting and artistically enriching. Save the date, and let the music of Handel and Finzi fill your heart with the joy of the season.
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Dreams of Faraway Lands
2024-04-20 19:00 - 21:00 | Great Lakes Center for the Arts, 800 Bay Harbor Dr., Petoskey, Michigan, 49770
Join us for an exciting musical journey inspired by the cultures of faraway lands.
Musical portraits by celebrated composers will transport you to the distant regions of the Middle East, Asia, Africa, Southern Europe in this smorgasbord-concert of distinct musical cultures presenting works such as Mozart’s Abduction from Seraglio and Turkish March, Rossini’s Italian Girl in Algiers, Turina’s Five Gipsy Dances, and Sibelius’ incidental score for the play Belshazzar’s Feast.
The highlight of the concert is Marcus Paus’ Portrait of Zhou for Flute and Orchestra. Paus is the most prominent contemporary Norwegian composer of our time known for promoting works that are influenced by folk music and non-Western classical music, in this case Chinese music. The piece will be presented by an award-winning flutist Nancy Stagnitta, who is a leading crossover artist as both classical flutist and jazz artist. Her passion, versatility, and elegant artistry have led to concert engagements in Africa, Europe, Asia, and across the U.S. In 2018, she gave the Asian premier of David Amram’s Giants of the Night Flute Concerto with the China National Symphony in Beijing.
It never ceases to amaze me how opening our hearts, minds, and ears to musical traditions beyond the familiar can lead to something so unique, filled with colors, exotic spices, and dreams. ~ Libor Ondras, Music Director
ABOUT | Nancy Stagnitta, Flute Soloist
Tickets | $35 – $45 – $65
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Carl Orff’s Carmina Burana & Saint-Säens Organ Symphony
2024-06-14 19:00 - 21:00 | John M. Hall Auditorium, Bay View
This concert is a community-collaborative concert presenting over 120 local artists spanning 4 generations!
The performance includes two masterworks and audience favorites, Carmina Burana by Carl Orff and Organ Symphony by Saint Saens with featured soloists Amy Cross, Thomas Gunther, and Kelly Hale. The artists of the GLCO Orchestra, GLCO Chorus, the Little Traverse Choral Society led by Andre Strydom, and Great Lakes Children ’s Choir led by Amy Cross will join forces to create this special night at the historic John M. Hall Auditorium in Bay View.
This is a unique opportunity to hear these masterpieces as they both require a large performance force and thus are not presented very often. Carmina Burana was last performed in our community over a decade ago and is fondly remembered by our residents to this day. The Saint Saens’ Organ Symphony is one of the rare works that incorporates the “King of the instruments” into the fabric of the score. The organ at the John M. Hall Auditorium is a majestic instrument by Pilcher with all the stops at the disposal to recreate the soundscape of the Organ Symphony masterfully performed by a virtuoso organist Kelly Hale.
The concert carries a true community spirit and will leave a long-lasting impact on audiences and artists alike. You don’t want to miss it! ~ Kathy Schroeder, GLCO Vice-President & Community Arts Supporter
ABOUT | Kelly Hale, Organ Soloist
Tickets | $35 — $45 — $65
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Ravel’s Tzigane | Gypsy Violin
2024-07-18 19:00 - 21:00 | Great Lakes Center for the Arts, 800 Bay Harbor Dr., Petoskey, Michigan, 49770
The most entertaining orchestra pops concert of the season with a SURPRISE you don’t want to miss!
An evening filled with high-energy music of Roma (Gypsies) from the Mediterranean and Balkan vibrant cultures! You can tap your toes to the rhythms of traditional folk music by Enescu’s Romanian Rhapsody, Brahms’ Hungarian Dances, or Gipsy Kings’ Medley, and more!
The concert will feature an internationally-acclaimed Balkan violinist Robert Lakatoš from Serbia performing Ravel’s Tzigane and Sarasate’s Caprice Basque on his private collection violin of Antonio Stradivari from 1709. Mr. Lakatoš is one of the most promising young artists of his generation and the GLCO is thrilled to bring him to the northern Michigan audiences.
If you are looking for a FUN evening with GLCO bridging orchestra with ethnic flair, look no further! Get your tickets today! ~ Meg Ideker, General Manager
ABOUT Robert Lakatoš, Violin Soloist
Tickets $35 – $45 – $65
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Copland: Clarinet Concerto & Hoedown
2024-09-07 19:30 - 21:00 | John M. Hall Auditorium, Bay View
Award-winning clarinetist Jeanmarie Riccobono takes centre stage in Aaron Copland’s jazzy Clarinet Concerto. Jeanmarie is the principal clarinetist in the Traverse Symphony Orchestra and teaches clarinet at Northwestern Michigan College and the Bay View Music Festival.
The renowned jazz clarinetist Benny Goodman asked Copland to compose a work for him. The result was a two-movement concerto: the first section is one of Copland’s most lyrical and melodious creations; the second is in an all-out jazzy style. The movements are connected by a cadenza for the soloist.
The concert will also include Copeland’s Hoedown from Rodeo, Debussy’s Dances Sacred & Profane, and Caroline Shaw’s Entr’acte. Originally composed in 1942 for a ballet called Rodeo, Hoedown features two American square dance tunes and evokes the energy and adventure of the American pioneering spirit.
Cellist Lena Sytsma-Reed, winner of the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra’s 17th Annual Young Artist Competition, will be performing Haydn’s Cello Concert No 1.

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Beethoven's Night
2024-10-05 19:00 - 20:30 | Great Lakes Center for the Arts, 800 Bay Harbor Dr., Petoskey, Michigan, 49770
Celebrating the masters of classical music with Beethoven’s Symphony No.7 and Violin Concerto featuring Dmitri Berlinsky.
Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra is thrilled to bring internationally acclaimed violinist Dmitri Berlinsky to our northern Michigan audiences performing Beethoven’s Violin Concerto!
Mr. Berlinsky arrived on the international scene as the youngest winner in the history of the Paganini International Violin Competition in Genoa, Italy. Born in St. Petersburg, Russia into a family of musicians, Mr. Berlinsky began studying the violin with his father. At a very early age he appeared as soloist with the St. Petersburg Symphony and the Moscow Philharmonic. Since, he performed with most prestigious orchestras worldwide.
The Los Angeles Times describe Dmitri as “Pyrotechnically impressive and fiery…”
The concert will also feature Beethoven’s Symphony No.7, which Beethoven himself remarked that it was one of his best works. The second movement, “Allegretto”, was so popular that audiences demanded an encore!

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Messiah by Candlelight
2024-12-12 19:00 - 20:30, 2024-12-13 19:00 - 20:30 | Great Lakes Center for the Arts, 800 Bay Harbor Dr., Petoskey, Michigan, 49770
Tis the season with the cherished holiday tradition Messiah by Candlelight featuring the GLCO Chorus and guest soloists.
The concert will also feature Schubert’s Magnificat and Mozart’s Sleigh-Ride to celebrate the spirit and joy of the holiday season.
Two performances: December 12th and 13th, 2024.

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Lux Aeterna | Eternal Light
2025-04-25 19:00 - 20:30 | St. Francis Xavier Church, Petoskey
Experience an evening of hope, brilliance, and transcendent beauty with Morten Lauridsen’s “Lux Aeterna” and Mozart’s Symphony No. 25. Together, these masterpieces will come alive in the magnificent acoustics of St. Francis Xavier Church of Petoskey.
Lux Aeterna (Eternal Light) is a renowned choral work by American composer Morten Lauridsen, written in 1997 and premiered at the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles. Performed and admired worldwide, the music and text focus on light as a symbol of hope, peace and transcendence. Experience its beauty in the sacred space of the St. Francis Xavier Church of Petoskey with the depth and richness of its cathedral acoustics.
Featuring the Great Lakes Chamber Orchestra Chorus led by Andre Strydom.
Mozart’s Symphony No. 25 in G minor is a masterpiece, showcasing Mozart’s unique blend of melodic elegance, harmonic innovation, and emotional depth. This work was a major influence on later composers, including Beethoven and Brahms. As one of Mozart’s most popular symphonies, the opening bars are among the most recognizable in classical music, and its enduring popularity is a testament to its timeless appeal.
In response to the recent ice storm affecting our communities in northern Michigan, the concert will be FREE of CHARGE. No ticket needed. All are welcome. Doors will open at 6:30pm. Concert at 7:00pm.

Viva La France! | An American in Paris
2025-06-13 19:00 - 20:30 | John M. Hall Auditorium, Bay View
Join us for a night of timeless favorites that transport you to the heart of Paris and beyond.
We’re thrilled to welcome Broadway soloists Alexandra Zorn and Matthew Kacergis for an unforgettable evening of French-inspired classics and beloved showstoppers—from the enchanting melodies of George Gershwin’s An American in Paris, to the powerful and moving story of Claude-Michel Schönberg’s Les Misérables, and the witty brilliance of Leonard Bernstein’s Candide.
Experience an evening where romance, rebellion, and humor come together in perfect harmony!
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Stravinsky's Rite of Spring
2025-07-17 19:00 - 20:30 | Great Lakes Center for the Arts, 800 Bay Harbor Dr., Petoskey, Michigan, 49770
World Premiere of a Bold New Choreography—Experience the Ballet That Caused a Riot!
Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring shocked the world at its 1913 Paris premiere, sparking a riot with its groundbreaking music and radical dance. Now, GLCO and DEOS Contemporary Ballet bring this legendary work to life with a newly commissioned world-premiere choreography, created exclusively for northern Michigan audiences.
This electrifying performance will transport you to the revolutionary soundscapes of early 20th-century Paris. Don’t miss this once-in-a-lifetime reimagining of a masterpiece that changed the course of music history!
The evening continues with high-energy summer rhythms including Márquez’s Danzón No. 2 and Bernstein’s Mambo from West Side Story—plus a surprise community guest artist you won’t want to miss!
About DEOS Contemporary Ballet: https://www.deosballet.com/
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Beethoven Eroica
2025-09-06 19:00 - 21:00 | John M. Hall Auditorium, Bay View
A Night at Lobkowicz Palace
Experience “The Day That Changed Music Forever”
Step into Vienna, 1804, where Beethoven’s groundbreaking Symphony No.3 (Eroica) was first unveiled at the Lobkowicz Palace. It was like nothing heard before and is now considered a landmark in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras.
Mozart’s (only) Concerto for Two Pianos features guest piano soloists Tony Patterson and Casey Robards.
Also performed will be the orchestral premier of The Match by Tony Patterson, and First Movement of Symphony in E-flat Major by Anton Eberl.
Join us for a night of history, friendship, and artistry!
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Fall Color Tour
2025-10-11 19:00 - 21:00 | Great Lakes Center for the Arts, 800 Bay Harbor Dr., Petoskey, Michigan, 49770
Exploring Color in Music and Painting
Each fall, northern Michigan becomes a living painting, drawing visitors from near and far to marvel at its colors.
GLCO’s Fall Color Tour extends that beauty into the concert hall, where music by Debussy, Mussorgsky, Bach, or Haydn joins reflections from award-winning pastellist Heidi A. Marshall in a vibrant celebration of color in sound and art. Ms. Marshall’s work has been showcased in major museums and art publications nationwide including the National Arts Club in New York, the Butler Institute of American Art in Ohio, and in leading publications such as The Pastel Journal and Plein Air Magazine to name a few.
The concert will also feature a solo appearance by Blaise Sytsma-Reed, the winner of the 2025 GLCO Young Artists Concerto Competition, performing the first movement of Lalo’s Symphonie Espagnole. Blaise is a senior at Charlevoix High School and a member of the Dorothy Gerber Strings Program.
This concert is generously underwritten by Wally Klein.
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